Trap for air or wind blowing parallel to the wall of a building



M. LANDAU ILDING TRAP FOR AIR 0R WIND BLOWING PARALLEL TO THE WALL OF A BU Filed March 23, 1965 v INVENTOR. Mon/Q9. 56mm BY ArmR United States Patent ,4 1 Claim. (CI. 9830) This is a continuation-in-part of application Serial No. 154,762 filed Nov. 24, 1961 now abandoned and a continuation-in-part of application Serial No. 262,661 filed Mar. 4, 1963, now abandoned.

This invention relates to a ventilator for buildings with a view to trap air or wind blowing parallel to the wall of a building, for the purpose of forcing the air inside the building to ventilate the latter.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a ventilator of the kind aforesaid which traps the air blowing parallel to the wall of a building in either direction.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a ventilator of the kind aforesaid in which the air blowing parallel to the wall of a building is trapped and is conditioned before it reaches the inside of the building.

It is still a further object of the invention, to provide a ventilator for buildings which is constructed in such a manner that after it has been installed, it can quickly and easily be dismantled and reassembled.

With these objects in view, the invention consists in a ventilator of the class described comprising: elongated duct means extending from the outside of a building through a wall thereof into communication with the interior of said building; and at least one longitudinally slideably removable continuous vertical divider member disposed in said duct means substantially bisecting the cross-sectional area thereof, and comprising an outer free end portion which extends beyond the outer end of said duct means for intercepting horizontally directed components of wind flowing along the outer surface of said wall in either direction and directing said intercepted wind inwardly along one half of said duct means into the interior of said building, the other half of said duct means being subjected to reduced pressure by the interception of said wind for exhausting air from the interior of said building.

The invention is illustrated, by way of example only, in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view in longitudinal section illustrating a ventilator embodying the invention, the view being taken along the line 11 of FIG. 2.

FIGURE 2 is a plan view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view looking outwardly from the room being ventilated.

FIGURE 4 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 4, a duct 101 of substantially square cross-section is provided in an outside wall 102 of a room near its floor in such a manner that the opening of the duct at the outside surface 102a of wall 102 is at a somewhat lower level than that of the inside surface 102b, whereby the duct slants slightly upwardly toward the interior of the room. Along the centers of the bottom and top walls of the duct 101 grooves 103 are formed in the wall. The duct has an enlarged cross-section 104 adjacent the inside wall surface The entire duct including grooves 103 and section 104, is entirely lined with a liner 105 of sheet metal or any other suitable material, which has a protruding edge 105a at the top of the duct adjacent the outside wall surface 102a. The sheet metal from which the liner is made is cut and 3,279,349 Patented Oct. 18, 1966 bent so as to be applied fittingly to the walls of the duct and along the grooves, and has a protruding edge a at the outside surface 102a and flanges 1050 at the inner end of the duct, for the purpose which will be explained hereinafter. An outwardly and down-wardly extending cover 106 is fixed by means of screws, hinges or the like and is so dimensioned that it adheres to the edge 105a of the liner and can be removed and withdrawn through said duct from the inside of the room. Two bottom plates 10512 are placed onto the bottom of the liner on either side of groove 103 extending outwardly from the outside wall surface 102a. They have an upwardly turned flange 105b' at their outer ends with which they abut and are connected to the bottom edge of cover 106 by suit-able fastening means (not shown) and downwardly turned flanges 105x, 1053 at their inner ends being provided to fix them by means of screws (not shown) or the like to the liner 105. Two slidably removable vertically extending continuous divider members 107, 107a are inserted into the grooves 103 through the center of the duct from the section 104 by means of handles 107 and meet and are fixed to the cover 106 at its vertical side edges, i.e. each of the dividers 107, 107a is curved in a direction opposite to that of the other. In this manner oppositely horizontally directed openings 108, 108' are formed at the outside of wall 102, the openings extending normal to the direction of the wall, so that any wind blowing in a direction parallel to the wall as shown by the arrows is caught by either divider member 107 or 107a and is led by it into one section of the duct. The space between the members 107, 107a and the cover 106 may be utilized to house a light bulb 10711 or the like in order to illuminate the outer wall. This light source 107b may also be utilized to heat the divider members whereby the inflowing air will like-wise be heated. Screens 110 are inserted from the inside by means of handles 110' and cover the openings 108, 108' in order to guard against insects or flying objects. The liner 105 protrudes from section 104 and has an outwardly turned flange 1050 which surrounds the outer periphery of section 104 in a framelike manner and is spaced slightly from the inside wall surface 10221. On the upper and lower flanges 1050 shutters 111, 111a are slidable, shutter 111 overlapping shutter 111a. Each shutter comprises a flat plate having bent-over upper and lower edges which form a channel which engages the flanges 1050, a cut-out 111' being provided in each shutter of a height equal to that of the duct. By adjusting the transverse relative positions of the two shutters, the opening defined between their cut-out portions can be adjusted to keep either of the two halves of the duct fully or partially uncovered. The upper edges of the shutters are calibrated as shown, to facilitate their adjustment, according to the prevailing weather conditions. A frame 112 of substantially greater height than the enlarged section 104 of the duct is mounted on Wheels or casters 113 which roll on the floor of the room and are provided with braking means to arrest their movement when the frame is placed in front of the duct. The frame comprises a shallow trough 112' in its bottom; between the side walls of trough 112' a cylindrical roller 114 is rotatably mounted, a second cylindrical roller 114a being mounted in the side walls of the frame near the top. Longitudinal slots are provided in the side walls of the frame to facilitate the insertion of the upper rollers, which are held in position by plates 114' extending parallel to said side walls, the plates being disposed in small channels fixed to said walls. A towel 115 sewn into an endless belt is mounted on rollers 114, 114a. When trough 112' is filled with water and towel 115 is pulled around the rollers until it is completely moistened, any air trapped in the duct will carry moisture with it before it enters the room. If desired, the upper roller shaft may be operatively connected to a small motor 116 mounted on the top of frame 112, so that the rotation of the upper roller together with the towel 115 is effected automatically. the towels may be adjusted by springs. A shutter 117 is slidingly disposed within U-shaped rails 118 which are fixed on brackets 119, 120 mounted within wall 102. The shutter is held in the upper position, i.e. in which it does not cover duct 101, by means of a suitable mechanism (not shown). This mechanism may be electrically or mechanically connected to the entrance door of the room in such a manner that when said door is opened, the shutter is released to drop in rails 118 so that the shutter covers duct 101, whereby cross drafts are prevented. when said door is closed, the shutter 117 is again raised into its upper position. If it is desired to close off duct 101 entirely to the room, the shutter 117 may be lowered manually.

If desired, a fan may be inserted in the section 4 or 104 of the duct to provide extra ventilation, when necessary during the summer. Alternatively, an exhauster may be inserted in section 104 to remove noxious gases from the room. If the duct is left open, for example during the Winter, any of the combustion gases from a stove or the like heating means, which gases are heavier than air, will automatically seep out of the room through the duct. If it is desired to close the duct completely, a thick insulating plate may be inserted in section 104.

A close-meshed screen may be inserted into rails 118 when the shutter is in the upper position to prevent sand from entering the room in the case of prevailing sand winds.

What I claim is:

A ventilator of the class described comprising: elongated duct means of substantially rectangular cross-section extending from the outside of a building through a wall thereof into communication with the interior of said building, two longitudinally extending continuous vertical divider members extending adjacent each other in parallel relationship in said duct means substantially bisecting the The tension of cross-sectional area thereof, and projecting beyond the outer end of said duct with outer free end portions each being curved in a direction opposite to and away from that of the other for intercepting horizontally directed components of wind flowing along the outer surface of said wall in either direction and directing said intercepted wind inwardly, a cover member located exteriorly of said building and being curved outwardly and downwardly and being open at its sides and bottom, the vertical free edges of said divider members being removably attached to the side edges of said cover member, the cross-section of said duct means being enlarged at the portion of the wall adjacent the interior of the building, horizontally slidable shutter means being provided covering said enlarged portion, said shutter means being calibrated and being adjustable to regulate the opening of said duct toward the interior of the room and moistening means for moistening air entering said building through said duct means, said moistening means comprising a water-filled trough disposed within the interior of said building near the bottom of said duct means, a first roller rotatably mounted within said trough, a second roller mounted in a frame above the top of said duct means, and a towel in the form of an endless belt passing around said first and second rollers.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 518,984 5/ 1894 Zimmerman 98-37 964,146 7/1910 Clark 9837 983,179 l/1911 Swift 98-37 1,766,876 6/1930 Busby 9837 2,595,885 5/1952 Rhoades 9837 ROBERT A. OLEARY, Primary Examiner.

JOHN F. OCONNOR, Examiner.

WILLIAM F. ODEA, Assistant Examiner. 

